Falling to pieces
by x-Scarlett Feather-x
Summary: When Cassie and Caleb took a trip to Volterra, they didn't believe in fairy tales, ghost stories and things that go bump in the night. But now they're not so sure. Because a wrong turn and an upsidedown map has landed them as guests to the Volturi. The only problem is, their newly found hosts aren't too keen on the idea of them leaving. How hard can it be?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"We're lost." I stated.

"We are _not _lost." Caleb assured me, fumbling with the map as we passed the same crumbling statue for the third time. "We are temporarily geographically misplaced."

"Of course we are." I replied, too exhausted to bother arguing. "We're lost." I added under my breath.

"Hey, I heard that!" He called back to me as a trailed behind him. "I'll have you know my map reading skills are exceptional."

"Exceptionally bad." I corrected.

"No, really! I still have my scouts badge to prove it!" He paused whilst waiting for me to catch up.

"You must have got it out of a _Kellogg's _packet because the map is upside down." I pointed out.

Glancing down at the upside down map of Volterra, Caleb quickly turned it the right way up, as if it had always been that way. "No, it's not."

I sighed but said nothing. Here we were, two English exchange students from Cambridge who hadn't paid enough attention in Italian lessons to know how to ask directions, wondering around Volterra with no idea where they were. We were out of food, and although we had money, we were no where near any shops and they would be closed by now anyway.

We were in the heat of summer, which usually means rain in England, but here, in Volterra, the sun was beaming down scorching hot rays, even in the evening. It was almost ten o'clock, so we didn't have many hours of daylight left. Already getting dark, I remembered how quick darkness came in the summers. Too quickly. It could go from perfect daylight to pitch black dark in fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. I really didn't want to be wondering the streets of an unknown place at night.

We had been walking for hours, me traipsing behind Caleb like a lost puppy dog, and him leading the way. But of course, it had always been that way. Ever since the day we met.

_Flash back_

_BANG!_

_I felt two hands grip my shoulders as they spun me around and smashed me into the lockers. My key slipped through my fingers on impact and someone else snatched my bag from my hand. Looking up, I met the eyes of my daily nightmare: Ashdon Faraday._

_"Lunch money." He demanded. My skinny 5'5 frame was nothing compared to his muscular form towering over my head. His dark eyes, almost black, were throwing every ounce of hatred they had at me. Two of his minions, one of them holding my bag, stood either side of me, blocking my exit._

_"I- I don't have any today!" His fist plummeted into my stomach and I sunk to the floor. I recovered from the blow as they emptied the contents of my school bag onto the floor. I tried to creep away, but one of the minions saw me and pulled me up, restraining my hands behind my back. Ash advanced towards me, fists clenched. Panicked, I looked around for help, but the corridor was conveniently quiet. The way it always was when there was trouble. No one would get involved in something that wasn't their problem. And as for the teachers? They never ventured further than their classrooms or the staff room._

_"There's no one here to save you." The minion holding me propped me up, giving Ash a clear aim of my stomach. I closed my eyes as I saw him pulling back his fist, bracing my self. I gasped as the first blow came. My knees buckled but the minion held me in position as the blows continued to come._

_"Why would anyone want to save _you_?" Ash sneered at me. "You're _worthless." _His fist slammed into my stomach. "You're a waste of time." His hand slapped across my face. "You are _nothing!" _His fingers gripped my hair and threw me to the floor. I didn't get back up._

_The minions pounced on me, tearing off my jacket and shoes before running off down the corridor with them. Ash picked up my lunch box and emptied the food into his bag, but took a swig from my water bottle before dumping the rest of it over my head. The water mixed with my tears as I used my hand to brush the hair from my face, making my way to the girl's bathroom to clean myself up. _

_"Oh, no you don't." Ash grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet, my body protesting loudly, aching from all the abuse it had suffered. He picked up my locker key from the floor where I had dropped it. "Which one is yours? And don't you dare lie to me." I motioned to my locker, a few paces away. Dragging me with him, he strode toward it, swinging the door open. _

_"Get in." he ordered._

_"W-what?" My voice shook._

_"_Get. In." _I just stared at him. The locker was a little taller than me, so I would probably fit, but I wasn't about test it. "_Now." _Ash's voice growled, dangerously low. Losing patience, he shoved me in to the locker. His nails dug into my shoulders as he shook me back and forth, my head hitting against the metal walls of the locker. _

_"Please, stop!" I panted. "I'll give it to you tomorrow!" Releasing my shoulders, he threw a punch at my left cheek. I cried out in pain, tears streaking my face. "Please!" I begged, almost sobbing. "I promise!" _

_"Hey!" A male voice called. "Leave her alone!" I tried to see past Ash to catch a glimpse of the poor soul brave enough to get involved_, _but Ash pushed me into the locker hastily. His nose almost touching mine, he spoke to me in a threatening voice._

_"Tomorrow, you will bring me £30-" _

_"But-" I cut him off. How was I supposed to get that much money?_

_"Shut up." He interrupted. "I don't care how you get it. Not my problem. But you _will_ bring it to me, or you will pay in…other methods…" A sadistic smile spread across his face as his hand slipped down my back and fiddled with my bra strap. I shuddered. _

_"Hey! You! I said get off her!" The voice was closer now. Ash pinged my bra strap to regain my attention._

_"Understand?" He smirked seeing the horrified realization cross my face. I gulped._

_"Yes." I whispered._

_"Good." He threw one last punch at my stomach and watched me slide to my knees and his hand, before slamming the door shut and turning the key, leaving me in the dark._

_I heard muffled voices and occasionally someone being smashed into the lockers. I wondered how long this boy would last up against Ash. Not long, I guessed. Sitting in the bottom of my locker, I fiddled with the locket around my neck. Gazing at the picture of me and my Mum, I wondered how my life would have been if she had survived giving birth to me. Would I be here now? Locked in my own locker, bruised and aching from multiple assaults. No jacket, shoes or food and soaked with water. Mellowing in self pity and pondering on ifs and maybes that have no purpose other that causing me to spiral down into a pit of depression and negativity. Who knows?_

_I was distracted from my thoughts when I realized it was quiet. Guess the fight was over, then. It was silent for a while, and I had no idea how much time had passed when I heard footsteps coming down the corridor. The key turned in the outside of my locker and I instinctively threw my hands up to protect myself. Ash must have finished with the boy and come back to finish what he started with me. Light poured in and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for Ash's fist to slam into my chest. _

_But it never came._

_Slowly, I lowered my hands and dared myself to open my eyes. What I saw was a boy a little older than me, with sand coloured hair and piercing blue eyes. He held my jacket and shoes in one hand and my bag, with all my books back in it, on his back. His other had was held out towards me, offering to help me up. I glanced around quickly._

_"W-where is he? The boy - A-Ash, he was, h-he-" I stuttered panicked fragments of what was going through my head. _

_"Relax. He's not here anymore. He's in the medical room, actually." He smiled._

_"H-he - Ash is in the _medical room_?" I asked, astounded. "But - he…how?"_

_"Let's just say he got a taste of his own medicine." He leaned closer to me, to help me up._

_"I - you -" I gave up questioning this miracle. "Thank you." _

_"Your welcome. Here, let me help you." I took his hand and he pulled me up, giving me back my things. My shoes, my jacket, my bag, my locker key. He had retrieved everything. "Are you okay? You look-"_

_"No, its fine…I'm fine…" I insisted. He said nothing for a moment._

_"I saw what he did to you." He spoke quietly._

_"Honestly, I'm fine…I'm kind off used to it anyway." I stared at the floor._

_"And I heard what he said to you." He paused. "What he said before he shut you in that locker…and where his hands were." His voice had turned bitter. My mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. He looked me in the eyes, but I averted his gaze, quickly looking back down to the floor. _

_"You shouldn't have helped me.- not that I don't appreciate it, because I do - but he'll come back for you now, and there'll be more of them and-" I cut myself off, realizing I was babbling. "Don't put yourself on the line - not for me. It's not worth it…" I turned away and added in a whisper. "…_I'm_ not worth it…" He step in front of me and took my shoulders, I winced and he took my hands instead._

_"Stop it. Don't you believe what he tells you. You _are _worth it. Please…let me help you." I looked to the floor again, but he took my chin gently and met my eyes. "I won't let them hurt you. You won't have to be used to it anymore. I can help. If you'll let me…?" I considered. Should I let this boy risk himself, for me, of all people? Or had he already made that decision when he decided to help me today?_

_"Okay." I whispered. "I'm sorry.."_

_"Don't apologize. How much does he want tomorrow?" The worry of how I was going to pay returned, as well as the worry of what he would do if I didn't._

_"He said I'll bring him £30...or I'll pay him in…" I trailed off._

_"Yes, I heard that part." His eyes glazed over for a moment, no doubt he had understood Ash's threats, but his expression returned to normal as if it had never changed. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out £40 and offered it to me. I opened my mouth to tell him I couldn't possibly take it, but he interrupted it before I could start._

_"Take it. Hopefully, he won't give you any trouble tomorrow. But just in case. And buy yourself some lunch." When he saw my uneasy expression, he continued. "Besides, rather get it from me that steal it from someone else. That's what you were planning to do, isn't it?" I looked away reluctant to tell him that was exactly what I had been planning, and took the money._

_"Thank you."_

_"What is your name?" He asked_

_"Cassie Faryll." I realized I didn't know his either. He held out his hand and I shook it._

_"Caleb. Caleb Courtem."_

xXx

From that day onwards, Caleb had looked out for me. And he had never failed me.

Of course, he was also male. Which meant he was too proud to ask anyone for directions. Even if he had no idea where he was and had been walking in circles for hours.

"Caleb, can't you just _ask _someone?" I complained.

"No, I know exactly where we are going." Typical guy.

"And where, may I ask, it that?" I queried, not having a clue where he was going. He pointed ahead of him.

"That way." He said simply. I resisted the urge to bang my head against the wall.

"_Caleb…" _I groaned.

"What?" He snapped. "Apart from anything else, we're in _Volterra._ They speak _Italian. _Do you know how to ask directions in Italian?" I stopped, taken aback by his outburst. "I'll take your silence as a no, then? I don't suppose _you _would like to try reading this map?" He didn't give a chance to speak before continuing. "More silence? I'll take that as a no too." He threw the map on the floor and stormed ahead. I picked it up and ran to catch up with him.

"Caleb!" I shouted. "Caleb, wait! I'm sorry…It's just we've walking for hours, and it's getting dark now…Caleb, please wait!" He stopped and waited for me to catch up.

"No…no, It's me. I'm sorry too. I guess we're both just sick and tired of walking all day." He took the map from me and gave my hand a little squeeze. "Don't worry. We'll find it soon. And if we don't, I'll find us somewhere to stay for the night. I promise. Okay?" he prompted.

"Okay." I smiled, reassured. We rounded the corner, only to bump into a tall man with raven black hair and piercing dark eyes. Caleb stumbled and the stranger took his hand to steady him, clasping it in his hands.

"Oh!" Caleb exclaimed. "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I apologize." The stranger still held Caleb's hand. "Are you all right?"

"Of course, I'm fine, thank you." When he still didn't let go, he added. "Really, I'm fine." He pulled his hand from his grip.

"Oh, thank god! You speak English!" I nearly jumped with joy. Swiping the map from Caleb's grasp, I gave it to the man. "Can you tell us where we are please?"

"Yes…You are right…here!" He pointed to a spot on the complete opposite side of the map that our destination.

"_Caleb!" _I almost shrieked. "You said you knew where you were going! We're on the wrong bloody side of the damn city!"

"Well…um…my map reading skills are little rusty…" He said sheepishly.

"Rusty? _Rusty!? _It's almost dark and we're on the wrong side of the city, and you call that _rusty!?"_

"I apologize for interrupting your little feud, but I have a few guestrooms in my home, if you'd like to stay the night…?" We both turned to look at the stranger.

"Really?" I asked.

"That would be wonderful!" Caleb exclaimed.

"Great! If you'll follow me…why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves? My name is Aro, by the way. Are you tourists?"

"Exchange students." I corrected, handing him our exchange papers.

"Cassandra…" He read. "Such a pretty name…"

"It's Cassie." I corrected.

"Ah! Here we are." We entered a huge medieval castle, with a big turret in the middle.

"You _live _here?" I asked, astounded.

"I do. I live alongside my brothers and servants here in the castle." He opened the large wooden doors leading into the castle.

"Cassie and Caleb, welcome to my home."

**So? What do we think? I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update, but I'll try not to keep you waiting for too long. Let me know your thoughts using that lovely review box below. =]**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"You'll be staying in my quarters for the night." Aro lead us down several hallways before arriving at a door, presumably his quarters. Inside was a rather large sitting room of sorts, furnished with various antique-like pieces with intricate carvings and red velvets. Most of the walls were taken up with built in bookcases, jam-packed with ancient texts in languages I could never hope to recognise, never mind understand. It was like a mini Victorian library. In the corner of the room was a rather grand looking piano, which looked to be made of oak. My fingers itched to play it; I've played the piano since I was eight, but I'd never laid eyes upon one so beautiful.

"Caleb, your room is just here, second door on the left." Aro motioned to one of the several doors occupying the outskirts of the room. "Cassandra, I will show you to your room momentarily, but whilst you are both here, I'd like to ask that neither you wander from my quarters. The castle is a large place, as you both have seen, and homes many others who I fear may not be as welcoming as myself. I will see to it that the two of you are fed at some point this evening, but I have matters to attend to first. I hope you do not mind."

"That's fine, thank you so much." Caleb insisted. He bade myself and Aro good night and took himself to bed.

"Right, Cassandra-"

"It's Cassie." I corrected.

"Ah, but yours is such a pretty name, you don't think so?" Aro led me through a door on the left of the room.

"I don't know, I just don't like it. It feels too…sophisticated." I was a very plain girl, after all. I've never thought my name suited me. The only person in my family who had ever called me Cassandra was my grandmother.

"I must disagree, my dear, for you seem to quite a sophisticated young lady. Now come, you must be tired. Enough with this chit-chat, I'll show you to your room." I followed him through another door and we entered a large room packed with books. "This my study and your room just through that door there." He motioned to the only other door in the room. "My apologies for the inconvenience, but it is the only spare room I have."

"Thank you, Aro." I headed towards the door, ready to fall into a bed and lose consciousness.

"May I just reiterate what I said earlier, please do not venture outside these quarters, my dear."

"Of course. Good night." I yawned.

"Good night, Cassandra."

I didn't even bother correcting him. I just let my bag drop to the floor and collapsed on the bed.

xXx

It was the screams that woke me. At first I thought I had imagined them, or dreamed them perhaps. But no, they were quite real. Faint, and somewhat muffled, but real nonetheless. All was still and eerily quiet, besides the screams. But of course, you would expect it to be in the middle of the night. A shiver ran up my spine as a deafening shriek sounded louder than the others. That was what made up my mind. Slipping out of the bed, I crept out of my room and made my way to the door leading to the hallway outside Aro's quarters. Curiously, the door had been left wide open. I suppose that I had been too tired to notice before I went to sleep. I hovered for a moment, remembering his request not to leave, but my curiosity got the better of me. Besides anything else, I wouldn't be able to sleep with this noise.

As I ventured closer to the source, I became more nervous and uneasy. Maybe this was a bad idea… I mean, Aro had been quite clear with his instructions. And he was being kind enough as to let us stay the night, free of charge. The least I could do was respect his wishes. I looked back the way I had come, and to my horror heard the footsteps approaching. Instinctively running in the opposite direction, I kept note in my head of the turns I had taken. Soon enough, I found myself standing in front of a pair of giant oak doors, concealing the source of the screams.

My hands shook with adrenaline as I creaked open the door, peering inside. Then I wished I hadn't. _Blood. _There was so much _blood. _I saw people of all ages; Children, teenagers, elderly, even entire families, cowering in terror from these blood thirsty monsters. There were lots of them. Beautiful, deadly monsters, feasting on the blood, tearing it from their necks. I forced myself to look away, but couldn't bring myself to move. My breaths came out in ragged bursts, which I attempted to keep quiet. The bang of somebody hitting against the other side of the door caused me to leap forward, sending me running back to Aro's quarters. _Aro. _He's one of them. Of course he is - how could he not be? I had to get back to Caleb.

Dashing round corners and down corridors, I found my way back to our rooms. I might not be able to read a map, I but I can remember my way around places quite well. Panicked, I burst through Calebs' door.

"Caleb, we need to leave, Aro, he's a -" I stopped. Aro lifted his head from Calebs' neck and licked the blood from his lips. "I – you – he…" I stuttered, speechless. "Oh, Caleb…" I whispered to myself, covering my mouth with my hands. My heart stumbled as Aro paced towards me. I turned to run, but he shot forward and slammed my shoulder into the door.

"What was it you were saying, _Cassandra…?_ 'Aro is a…'" He cocked his head tauntingly.

"You – you're a…V-v-va…" Words failed me. I struggled in his grip, but he only held me tighter.

"I'm a…?" His eyes swam with amusement.

"V-vampire." I whispered.

"Correct, _my sweet_, now if you'll excuse me, I have a meal to finish." He threw me against the opposite wall and returned to Caleb.

"No! Stop it!" I rushed to pull Aro away, but he chuckled at my attempts. "Get away from him!" I yelled. He sighed.

"Would _you _like to take his place?"

"I…"

"I didn't think so. Now leave me to finish my meal. I shall deal with you in a minute." An idea formed in my head. Grabbing Calebs' bag, I dug out his dinner knife and a cup. I pressed the blade into my wrist, gasping in pain, as the blood poured out into the cup. It filled swiftly. I tugged at Aro's hair and he came up hissing. Shoving the cup under his nose, he took it, looking from me, to my wrist, and back to the cup. In one gulp, he poured it down his throat and looked at me.

"P-please, stop. Don't kill him, please." I begged as a tear escaped my eye.

"Think of how much blood is in your friend here, compared the amount there was in that cup. It's going to cost you more than that if you want to save him." Reluctantly, I dug the blade deeper into my wrist and refilled the cup. When he wasn't satisfied with that, I grabbed the jug from Calebs' bag and sliced along my other wrist to speed up the process.

"That's more like it, dear." I glared up at him. My head spun from the blood loss, and I began to become disorientated. The blood poured until the jug was filled, and I felt myself slipping. I saw Aro drain the jug dry before I fell into the darkness.

xXx

When I finally regained consciousness, the first thing I noticed was that both of my wrists were bandaged neatly. The second thing I noticed was that my clothes had been changed. I was no longer wearing the hoodie and skinny jeans I had arrived in, and in their place was an extremely thin, pale white night dress that was worryingly transparent. That was all. Pulling the covers tightly over my chest, my stomach churned at the thought of someone undressing me. The events of the night before returned to me and I put my head in my hands. What on earth was I going to do? And what about Caleb? Was he okay? Was he _alive_? The screaming, the blood, Aro..._Aro._ What was going to happen now?

The cold stone floor greeted my feet as I slid out of the bed. The room was small and plain. Stone floors and stone walls, no windows and two wooden doors - one which I remembered to lead to Aro's study, the other I discovered to lead to a rather small toilet. There was no other furniture besides the bed, which stood centrally against the back wall. At this point I realised that my bag was gone as well, and my clothes were nowhere in sight. There was, however, a bowl of porridge and a glass of milk sitting just left of the door. Surprisingly, the porridge was still warm, but I didn't trust it. I didn't trust anything in this place. I turned to open the door, but realised for the first time that there was no handle this side of it - much to my dismay. There was a tiny key hole at the top of the door, but I couldn't even reach that high. After kicking the door a few times, and achieving nothing but hurting my poor, shoe-less feet, I gave up and climbed back into the bed.

The longer I lay there, the more anxious I became. I wanted to see Caleb, just to know he was okay. I couldn't bear the thought of Aro draining him last night, I didn't even think before offering Aro my blood instead of his. I tried not to think about it, distracting myself by counting the bricks on the walls. I had reached one hundred and eighty-six when a voice startled me into reality.

"Not hungry, my sweet?" Aro stood against the door, holding the untouched bowl of porridge in his hand. My body jumped at his voice and I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, as if the papery cotton would serve as some form of protection from the blood thirsty monster whom I was locked in a room with.

"I - umm…No..." I sputtered. "Where's Caleb?" I burst out. "Is he okay?"

"He'll live." He stated. "In some form or another..." He added under his breath, placing the porridge back on the floor.

"Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean? What have you -" In a second, Aro had moved from his leaning position on the door, to perching on the side of my bed, index finger firmly pressed against my mouth.

"Caleb is fine, Cassandra." I tried to open my mouth, but he only pressed harder. "And he will continue to be fine, if you behave for me, _my dear_." I pulled my head away from him.

"I want to see him! Prove to me he's alright, _then_ I might consider listening to you." I snapped.

"Oh, cara...you amuse me so." He chuckled moving closer.

"I amuse you?!" I exclaimed, attempting to push him away from me although he didn't budge. "I see nothing amusing about this!" Swiftly removing my hands from his chest, he pinned them above my head and slid on top of me. I struggled with all my might, trying to get him off of me, screaming and shouting, but all he did was hold me tighter. I head butted him, to which he responded by switching both my hands into one of his own, and using the other to grip my jaw painfully. He forced me to look at him and held my head still. A few minutes later, I gave up fighting him. It wasn't getting me anywhere.

"Are you quite finished, _Cassandra_?" I averted his gaze, refusing to reply. "You certainly had a voice five minutes ago, use it. I expect an answer."

"Yes." I whispered. He released my jaw.

"_Good._" He breathed. "Now, I am going to excuse that little episode on the basis that you do not know any better yet. But, believe me you, if it happens again, you _will _be punished and I _will not _be able to guarantee you Caleb's safety. You do not need proof of his wellbeing because you have my word, which you will take as it's all you have. You _will _listen to me and you _will_ obey my command because if you don't you _will_ suffer. Do you understand?" I nodded.

"Sorry, what was that, cara?" He urged me to speak.

"Yes, I understand."

"Brilliant. Know that you are now at my mercy, and mine only. Do not bother trying to escape because we will find you, drag you back and I will personally chain you up in the dungeons until I decide to release you. Not to mention you will not be capable of walking for a considerable amount of time afterwards. From now on you are my property, meaning you will do whatever I tell you to, and I will do whatever I want with you. I am your Master. Yes?"

"Yes." I whispered.

"Say it." He spoke sternly.

"You are my Master." A tear escaped my eyes, but I couldn't brush is away in my position. Aro didn't care, he just continued lecturing me.

"And?"

"And I will do whatever you tell me to because I'm your property now." My voice was almost inaudible as more tears escaped.

"Good." He finally released me and I hugged my legs, pulling my blanket over me. "You can begin by eating that porridge. You're far too thin - you can see your ribs sticking out."

"How do you know that...?" I asked, alarmed.

"Did you think your clothes magically changed on their own?" He smirked.

"Oh, I - um...no. That was - that was you then?" I felt sick.

"You were covered in blood." He reminded me, passing me the bowl of lukewarm porridge. I said nothing. I spent the next five minutes mindlessly stirring it, picking up clumps of it and watching it sink back into the bowl.

"Cassandra." I looked up. "Eat." I shifted my gaze from him, to the porridge, then back to him again. He sighed. "If I have to come over there and force it down your throat, I will, but it will _not _be pretty, I assure you. Eat. _Now._" He growled. I reluctantly pushed half a spoon full into my mouth and down my throat. In fear of angering him further, I made myself continue to eat.

"If you behave, I may permit you to see Caleb in a few days' time." I said nothing for a moment, forcing minimal amounts of porridge down my throat.

"What did mean earlier?" I questioned in a small voice.

"About what, my dear?" He replied all too pleasantly.

"What you said about Caleb. 'He will continue to be fine, if you behave for me, my dear.'" I mimicked his voice. "What did you mean?"

"Why, exactly what I said, cara." I looked at him blankly. "Do as I tell you, and he will be fine. Disobey me and I'll ensure he pays for it. And so will you." I lowered my head, feeling his gaze settle on me. "I hope you don't plan on making a habit of ignoring instructions?" I cocked my head, not understanding what he was getting at. "Well, I made it quite clear not to leave my quarters and you decided to wonder off around the castle." He reminded irritably.

"I'm…sorry."

"And you've been ignoring my instructions to eat that for the past twenty minutes." He motioned to bowl of porridge in my hands.

"I'm eating it." I said defensively, forcing a particularly large spoonful into my mouth to demonstrate. "I'm not ignoring you either…"

"Yes, well…like I said be sure not to make a habit of it."

"I won't…" I murmured, afraid.

"I'm glad to hear that. You are a pretty little thing; it would be a shame to ruin you." My heart turned cold causing me to shiver at his words. In a second, he had reached up and unlocked the handle-less door, swiftly disappearing into his study. The door clicked behind him, and suddenly all of the emotion buried inside of me resurfaced. I threw the porridge at the wall in frustration, disappointed when the crack that echoed throughout the room was nowhere near as satisfying as I had anticipated. I missed Caleb; I was terrified and had no idea what was going to happen next. Curled up in my bed, and did the only thing I could do. I sobbed quietly into my pillow, until eventually I was rescued by sleep. The dreams took me away from reality, but a voice still echoed in the back of my mind.

_What am I going to do?_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Dark. Everything is dark. I can't see. I try to blink but my eyes won't close. Or maybe they just won't open. I don't know. I don't know anything. Who has put me here? Here, in this dark place, so silent it's deafening, so cold I can't feel my fingertips. Here. Where is here? I try to rub my eyes, but I can't move my hands. They are so cold, I can barely feel them. I can't move my legs either, nothing is working. I thrash my head for side to side but nothing changes. I still can't see. I still can't move. I still can't feel a thing besides the stabbing cold consuming me. _

_Am I dying? Dead? Is this what death is like? I thought death was peaceful. This is everything but it. This is torturous. I cannot move, see or hear. I cannot feel, smell or taste. It is only dark and cold. Yet I am conscious. I am completely conscious and aware, although there is nothing to be aware of. Like I am floating in nothing. Like I myself am nothing. I am nothing surrounded by nothing drowning in…nothing. I am just…here. Where is here? Maybe here is nowhere. Here is nowhere and nowhere is here, here where there is no one, no one but me who is nothing._

"_You are _nothing_." A voice whispers cruelly. I gasp, looking around pointlessly, helplessly, searching for something that isn't black. I am unsuccessful. I don't know where the voice has sounded from. It seemed to have come from everywhere. From nowhere._

"_Don't you know who I am, my girl?" I hear footsteps tap softly, becoming louder. My breathing falters. "Don't you remember me?" I open my mouth but no words come out. He chuckles darkly at my reaction._

"_There's no one here to save you." I jump as his voice sounds in my ear. I can feel his breath on my neck. I can hear my breath coming out in jagged gasps now, until a fist plummets into my stomach, taking away my breath completely._

"_Ash..." I whisper._

"_Ahh, you remember me now?" I can't tell where his voice was from, but it was close._

"_How could I forget?" I mutter more to myself than to him._

"_How, indeed…" His fingers brush against my shoulder sending a shiver over my body._

"_Why do you hate me?" My voice was quiet. Louder, I continue. "What have I done to you that is so wrong to make you hate me so much?" I whimper as I feel his hand wonder over my stomach._

"_Hate you?" He questioned, amused. "What makes you think that I hate you?" Fingers travel from my stomach upwards, becoming harsher as they go._

"_Y-you…I…" Words fail me. Nails scrape along my ribs as my chest rises and falls in uneven gasps. He chuckles again._

"_I do love the affect I have on you, my girl." Anger boils inside me._

"_Your life ambition is to make mine a living hell!" I scream._

"_Why does that mean I hate you?" I can feel that he is smirking at me. A crushing weight rests it's self on my chest. "Maybe it just means I enjoy making your life a living hell." His hands grip my shoulders painfully causing me to squirm beneath him. He shakes me violently, my head whacking off the hard surface I'm lying on._

"_Please…" I beg. "Please, stop." Tears trickle down my cheek. "Please, why, _why _do you do this? Whatever I've done, forgive me, please, I'm sorry. Please…" I feel pains stabbing in my forehead. More tears trickle and my moan of pain mutates into a scream of agony as the stabbing feeling intensifies. My wrists are being held together, pulled up and pinned above my head. Two ice cold hands clasp my cheeks. _

"_You belong to me, my girl…" I hear Ash's voice but it's distant. "My Cassie. My Cassandra. Cassandra…Cassandra…"_

"Cassandra!"

My eyes snapped open. I immediately jumped back a mile as I saw Aro who had me pinned to the bed. I was already in a state from the dream, so this nearly gave me a heart attack. His hands were placed on either side of my face, and I noticed that my own hands were tied above my head.

"W-what – why are you – you…here…?" I panicked, struggling. "What are y-you doing? P-please let me go!" I tried to free my hands, or push him off of me, but he wouldn't budge. He raised his hands from my face. Immediately I looked away, flinching, expecting him to hit me. "Please, stop!" I cried. "Don't hurt me…" To my surprise, he didn't hit me. Instead, I saw him reach up and untie my hands. I looked up at him in surprise.

"I do not intend to hurt you, cara." His voice was gentle but stern.

"B-but – what are you d-doing – I - " My heart was still fluttering in my chest. Aro shifted into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

"Calm yourself, Cassandra. You were dreaming. I tied your hands to stop you from hurting yourself – you were trying to claw your eyes out. I was trying to awaken you before you did yourself anymore harm, but it proved to be somewhat difficult." I put my hand to my forehead to find it damp with blood. Looking at my nails I realised they were caked with blood too. He must have been telling the truth.

"S-sorry." I stuttered.

"It was out of your control." He handed me a bowl of porridge and strode toward the door. "I was rather preoccupied when I was disturbed by your blood curdling screams, so I shall return to you later this evening. I am sure you have questions for me?" I nodded. "I shall give you some answers then." He paused in the door way. "Oh, and Cassandra?"

"Yes?"

"When I get back, I expect that bowl to be empty, preferably in _one piece,_ and that_ mess," _He motionedto the shattered bowl surrounded by stale porridge I had thrown at the wall the night before. "To be cleaned up." I didn't meet his gaze. "Is that quite clear?"

"Quite clear." I clarified.

"So long as we understand each other." He continued his departure from the room, the door clicking shut behind him. He didn't seem to have been in a good mood.

There was a bucket of water with a sponge and a carrier bag next to the bowl I had thrown at the wall the previous night. _Better get that cleared up._ I scooped the splattered porridge and shattered china into the plastic bag and scrubbed the remainder off of the stone floor. Turning to the new bowl of food, I contemplated what to do with it. I still didn't trust him, or anything he gave me. _He can't force me to eat_ I thought. At least I could have control over something. I emptied the contents of the bowl into the toilet and flushed it away. _He won't know the difference._

So now what? What did he expect me to do while he was off being 'preoccupied'? There's nothing to do in this room. Nothing but sit on this bed and think. I don't want to think. There's nothing to think about that doesn't hurt. But sometimes thinking is inevitable. Sometimes when all you can do to distract yourself is stare at four cold, stone walls, you think anyway. And once you start, it's hard to stop. It's hard to stop thinking about Caleb, who is God knows where in this damned castle. _Assuming he's even alive. _No. Don't think like that. He's fine. Aro said so. _You don't trust him though, do you? _Think about something else.

What else is there? I didn't really have much family back in Cambridge. My mum died giving birth to me, and my dad was never around. I lived with my older brother for a while, but was taken into the care of local authority two years ago. They said he wasn't looking after me well enough. He never said it, but he blames me for our mother's death. I can't say I blame him. If I wasn't alive, she would be. It's as simple as that. The foster family I stayed with were nice – they paid for me to go on this school trip to Italy. Obviously, it has gone horribly wrong, but they weren't to know.

It's rather stupid really, isn't it? We were in town with the rest of our Italian class, and we all split up into groups. We were supposed to meet everyone back at a certain point and then make our way back to our dedicated exchange house, but we got lost. It got so late that we decided to just go back the exchange house and contact there others to let them know we were okay. But I we couldn't find our way there either. And we ended up here.

Here. Here, here, _here. _This impossible place full of…_them._ Leeches. Parasites. Blood suckers. Monsters that lure people into their lairs and pretend to be gentle and kind. Then the moment they are alone with you they feast on the very thing that keeps us living. _Blood._

No. I can't think about this anymore. I can't face it. Not yet. Hopefully I'll be out of here before I have too. I have to get Caleb and me out of here. Soon. I sighed . How can you escape a castle full of…_them, _in the middle of Italy with no money, no way to communicate and a possessive creep who keeps me in an empty room lacking a door handle? Urgh. I can't work this out now. I'll think about it later. How long had it been since Aro left? I had no idea. Maybe I would just sleep. Not like there's much else to do here…

xXx

I woke with a start, screaming. Putting my hand to my heart, I tried to slow my breathing. _Damn these dreams_. I barely ever had them before I came here.

"We really must stop meeting like this." I jumped, sitting up to see Aro perched on the edge of my bed.

"I'm assuming you neglected to eat the porridge then?" How did he know?

"I…err…" He crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation. "No, I did. The bowl's empty, see?" His hand swung round and collided with my cheek painfully. I refused to let him hear the cry that stuck in my throat.

"Don't lie to me, Cassandra." He took my chin forcing me to meet his gaze. "It's not acceptable and you're awful at it." I looked down. "Apart from anything else, I ground up some sleeping tablets into it which, had you eaten it, would have given you a long, nightmare-less sleep. The fact I returned to find you screaming in your sleep again gave you away."

"Oh." Was all I could say.

"'_Oh_'" He repeated. "You will be eating in my presence from now on." I nodded. "Come." He rose from the bed and strode into his study. I followed, hesitating at the door. _Where was I going? _"You can stay in that room, by all means. I just thought you'd be bored of those four walls by now." Continuing inside, he motioned to a door on the other side of the room. "There's a shower and some clean clothes in the bathroom there. If you're not back out here within twenty minutes, I'll come and get you myself."

The bathroom was much nicer than mine. There was a bath and a shower, whereas there wasn't even a sink in my room. Remembering I had little time, I showered quickly and dried myself before putting on the clothes he had laid out for me. I tried to ignore the fact that he had gotten my bra size spot on. He had given me a floor length burgundy dress with long sleeves and a lace up back. It looked like it was from Victorian times, but it was quite pretty. Slipping it on, it fit like a glove. I couldn't lace it up though. After about five minutes of struggling with it, the door opened. I gasped, whirling around to face Aro.

"Time's up." He stated. I wrapped my arms over my chest, ensuring I was covered up. "My apologies, dear, I should have realised you would not be able to fasten that dress by yourself." Something in expression his made me think that it was no mistake. He motioned me forwards and spun me around. "Don't worry, my sweet," He spoke whilst tying my dress. "You've nothing I haven't seen before." Oh, but I did worry.

Taking my wrist, he led me through the study and into his living area. He sat on the sofa, leaving me standing rather awkwardly in the middle of the room, my arms wrapped around myself. "Make yourself at home, cara." He motioned to the seat next to him. Hesitantly, I perched on the edge of the sofa, as far away from him as possible. I bowed my head, letting my hair cover my face as I starred at the floor. Neither of us said anything for few moments. Eventually, Aro broke the silence.

"You know, I figured you'd be glad to be out of that room, but if anything you look less comfortable." He commented.

"Forgive me for not feeling comfortable locked in a room against my will with a… a person like you… that could kill me at any moment." I couldn't manage to utter more than a whisper.

"Cassandra, I have no intention of killing you." I didn't react. "And so long as you comply, I do not intend to harm you."

"Then why did you…do what you did… to Caleb?" I shifted uncomfortably, trying not to think about it.

"Because at the time I had no use for Caleb."

"And you have a use for him now?" I questioned.

"You're not unintelligent, Cassandra. You tell me."

"Me." I whispered. "You're using him to get to me."

"Correct. You are the only reason he still exists." So why did I still exist? What was to stop him for making a meal out of me too?

"So you've no intention of killing or harming me, but blackmail is perfectly acceptable? What use am I to you?"

"I'm not going to tell you that." He was so infuriating. He couldn't keep me here without a reason.

"Why not?"

"You don't want to hear the answer." He stated simply.

"You won't know that until you tell me." I challenged.

"Cassandra, look at me when I'm talking to you. And sit down properly, if you edge any further away from me, you'll fall off the chair." I did as he said, pulling myself onto the sofa properly. I leaned against the arm of the chair facing Aro, hugging my legs close to my chest.

"Look at me." He repeated. "I won't bite. Promise." He grinned. I still kept my head down, but managed to make my eyes meet his.

"You're in denial." He stated.

"No…" I shook my head. "I'm not…"

"Yes, you are. You described my kind as '_people like me' _and me feeding as "_what I did"_ rather than just using the name of my kind and stating what exactly it was that I did. You also hesitated and shuddered whilst trying to express these actions, showing you were telling yourself it wasn't real." I continued to shake my head.

"Cassandra, I can't answer your questions if you don't accept what I am." He sighed. "Sooner or later, you shall have no choice. This is the reality you live in, and you can't pretend otherwise." I put my hands over ears and squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't face this now. Not yet. He took my wrists, prying them from my ears.

"No, no, no…" I repeated. "Not real, you're not real."

"You_ can't_ hide from this. You are here now; you are aware of my kind's existence and you are _never_ going to leave." He spoke harshly, holding my wrists in one hand and my chin in the other. A tear ran down my face. I stopped for a moment, then shook my head again, refusing to look at him. He dropped my hands, sighing once more.

"Do I have to prove it to you? Do I have to force to see what is completely obvious? What you already _know? _This is ridiculous, Cassandra, you saw me _feeding _from Caleb _– you fed me your own blood. _You saw a whole hall full of us, feeding from you humans. And do you know why? Because we are - "

"_Stop!"_ I shouted. "Stop it, don't say it. Just stop doing this, please."

"You say it then. What am I, Cassandra?" I shook my head. "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." I ignored him. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me up, dragging me towards another door.

"W-where are you t-taking me?" I panicked. He swung open a door nudged me down a staircase.

"Down there." He closed the door behind him, locking it. Another one lacking a handle. It was pitch black now, I couldn't see anything. He pushed me forward, causing to stumble to the bottom.

"I'm a_ vampire!" _He yelled, suddenly right in front of me. I whimpered, backing into a wall. "And I'm going to show you _exactly_ what that means." I heard a clang of metal and he threw me into what I assumed was some sort of cell. The door closed behind me.

_Dark. _Everything isdark. I can't see. I grip the metal bars. They were cold. There is nothing besides the stabbing cold consuming me.Like I myself am nothing. I am nothing surrounded by nothing drowning in…nothing.

I am just…_here._

Where is here?

**Hello! I just want say to I'm sorry to anyone who read my first chapter when I originally posted it, and had to wait as long as they did before I posted chapter 2 and 3. I didn't realise how busy I would be during year 11. But, I only have three exams left, and then I have a twelve week long summer holiday **

**So I plan to be able to update regularly now, and I will try my very best keep this up. Hope you liked this chapter, I am trying to improve my writing so constructive criticism is definitely welcome. Thanks to all who favourited, followed or reviewed. It's so appreciated.**

**P.S. Couldn't resist adding the Harry Potter quote. Sorry :) Xxx**

**Disclaimer : Stephanie Meyer owns any one Volturi, however my characters are my own invention.**

**Please let me know your thoughts with that beautiful review box below!**

**-Scarlett**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Light flooded the room, and I was momentarily relieved. Then I saw the room I was in and wished I had remained in darkness. The room was lined with cells identical to the one I was in. And in each one was a human.

"W-what is this?" I asked horrified. The people were all adults, most of them females. Some were sleeping on the ground, others rocking back and forth, and a few were just sat at the front of their cell, staring straight ahead, but not really seeing anything.

"My food supply." He paced around the room. "You see, I'm rather highly ranked in my world. What you saw in the hall was a public feeding – the vampires that inhabit this castle all feast together. I, however, tend to take the best specimens before the others have access to them, and bring them here. My own, private, food supply."

"You're _sick_." I spat. There was nothing else to say. "Is that why I'm here? You just want to keep me until you're peckish?"

"No, no…You're different. You're only here to witness." He observed each of his captives whilst he made his way around the room, until he came full circle back to me. "Would you like to pick one, or shall I?"

"What do you mean…" He waited for me to understand. "No!" I gasped. "No, definitely not!"

"I didn't think so." He continued to pace for what seemed to be an eternity, finally stopping at a woman who looked to be in her twenties. "I think I'll have you." He unlocked her cell and began advancing on her. She immediately began to sob, crawling to the back of her cell. His eyes turned black as he pounced on her, dragging her out into the room. He dropped her in front of my cell just out of my reach.

"Please don't kill me!" The woman cried. He ignored her pleas and slapped her across the face.

"You'll be begging me to kill you in a minute." He growled cruelly.

"Stop, don't do this." I tried to reach the women through the bars, but she was too far away. "Aro, stop!" He ignored me, and began kicking her in the stomach. "_Leave her alone!"_ I shrieked.

"Tell me, Cassandra, if I were human, would I be able to do this?" He took her arm in his hands and snapped it like a twig. She screamed in agony trying to crawl away from him. I stared in horror "Go on, then. Run." He spoke to her, a smirk on his face. She got up and ran towards the staircase, but in a blur he appeared in front of her. She turned and ran in opposite direction but again he moved so fast she ran into him. This went on for several minutes, with him never growing tired of it. My hands were shaking. I couldn't watch this anymore.

"Would I be able to move this fast?" He spoke to me. I shook my head, placing it in my hands. "_Oh_, no you don't. You _will _watch this and you shall not be _able _to deny your situation anymore by the time I am finished."

"No." I whispered.

"Yes." He clarified.

"You can't make me." He appeared in front of me.

"You will either watch now or I will torture and kill every human in this room until you do. What do you choose?" For a moment I did nothing, then I removed my head from my hands and met his eyes in reply to his question. There were tears streaming down my face. "Good choice." He took the woman by the hair and threw her onto her back. Stabbing his claws into her shoulders, he scraped them down the length of her, stopping at the bottom of her ribs. He gripped her so hard I heard one of them crack. She shrieked and finally gave up.

"_Stop!_ P-please, just k-k-kill me. D-don't hurt me anymore! _Please_…"

"I knew you'd see it my way." Pulling her neck towards him, he looked at me as he bit. "This is for you." I felt sick. She screamed at first, but in no time, she grew weak and went limp. Falling unconscious, Aro drained her of her blood and her heart finally stopped beating.

"You are so_ sick." _I spat once more. "You are sick and twisted and sadistic and-"

"A vampire." He reminded. "Just as a cat would play with its' prey before killing it, I like to play with mine. It's the same as you humans, you don't think twice about eating a chicken because you need it to live. We need your blood to live. There's no difference. There is always prey and predator. You humans are just too used to being at the top of the food chain."

"Maybe so, but there is no need to…to do that!" I motioned to the mutilated woman on the floor.

"For your information, I am not usually that violent. Without humanity, we would not be able to exist, therefore I try to respect the human whose life I am taking to sustain mine. The _only _reason I was so violent was to show you the extent of what I can do."

"I've seen enough."

"And yet you haven't seen everything…"

"Nor do I want to." I stated.

"It's too bad that's not your choice." He swung open the cell door and took my hands. "I know you, Cassandra."

"How can you possibly know me?" I hissed. "You met me only a few days ago – during which you haven't exactly interacted with me much. You don't know _anything_ about me."

"Oh, but I do, Cassandra. I know that your mother died giving birth to you. I know that your brother blames you for it, and deep down you agree with him. I know you used to visit her grave every Wednesday and lay down tulips because it was her favourite flower when she was alive. I know that you see Caleb as a brother, a better one than your real brother, and you have done ever since he protected you from Ashdon Faraday, and rescued you from that locker. I know that Ash is the one you dream of, that haunts your nightmares even to this day. I know that even the mention of his name increases your heart rate, and that I remind you of him. That's why you've had more nightmares since being here, and worse than you've ever had before. I know you're deepest fears are the dark, being left alone, being vulnerable and someone harming Caleb, which is why you hate me so much right now but fear me too much to tell me – because I have left you alone, in the dark, I have made you feel _very _vulnerable, and your precious Caleb's life is in my hands."

I tried to back away from him, pulling away. He wouldn't let go. "H-how do you know that?" I stammered. "Nobody knows that – I've never spoken it!" I slammed against his chest, but his grip only tightened. "Let go of me!" I screeched. This wasn't possible. These were things I had never told anybody. He chuckled.

"You do not need to _speak _for me to know what is going through your mind,_ my sweet._" What did he mean? "Must I spell it out for you?" He seemed to reply to my thoughts…but he couldn't be…could he?

"No…that's impossible…"

"Is it? If it's possible for vampires to exist, then why shouldn't it be possible for some to have unique powers? Like…reading every thought a person has ever had with a single touch…" His grin contorted into a cruel smirk at my face.

"No! Get off of me!" No, this can't be real…

"It's very real."

"Stop doing that! _Let go!"_ He did. I fell backwards, landing on the floor of my cell. Scrambling away from him, I backed into the wall. "St-stay away from me!"

"It's too late, Cassandra. Think of the amount of times I've had physical contact with you since you arrived. I know everything there is to know about you." Images of his hands brushing my skin, holding my face, lacing my dress flashed before my eyes. How many times? How many thoughts had he read? How many memories had he stolen?

"I hate you." I whispered.

"Hate me all you like, it's not going to do you any good. You shall not escape here. I can read any escape plans before you have a chance to carry them out." I didn't hate him. I despised him. With all my heart, I despised him.

"We'll see…" I hissed. I was going to get out of here. I didn't know how, but I was. He pounced on me, pinning me to the wall by my neck.

"Know this, my child. _Nobody_, undead or alive, leaves this castle if I do not wish it." He dropped me with a thump. "And if I am under the impression you are going to attempt to leave against my will, I will be inclined to restrain you, which, as entertaining as it would be for me, would be rather unpleasant for you."

"I don't care. I don't care what you do to me, but I am _not _just going to sit here and stay put, like your _pet."_ I spat the word as if it were toxic.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe I'll just have to…leave you here for the night..." He taunted. "Alone. In the dark…" My heart rate increased, and he chuckled. I didn't say anything. "Or, you could be a good girl and do as I say." He voice was patronising. I glared back, but refused to reply. He slammed the door shut. "Alone in the dark it is then." He turned to leave.

"No!" I burst out. The lights went out and everything was silent. I know it's stupid being afraid of the dark at my age, but it makes me really uneasy. "No, no, no…" I whispered to myself. I hugged my legs to my chest and put my head down. My hands began to shake and my breathing quickened. "It's okay." I told myself. "There's no one here, y-you're fine." Memories just seemed to flood into my mind, memories of Ash and lockers and dreams. "He's in Cambridge." I told myself. "H-he's not here."

There was a sudden bang across the room. I yelped, jumping up, I looked around me, scanning for movement but everything was black. I backed into something hard, gasping, I leapt forward only to hit the cell door. Screaming again, I fell backwards, scrambling into the corner. My breath came out in short, jagged gasps, I was almost hyperventilating. "Letmeoutletmeoutletmeout…" I breathed. Tears began to trail down my face as I began to rock back and forth. "Pleeeasse...let me out, don't leave me here, somebody let me out…" I muttered. "Please!" I lay my head on my knees.

"Aro…" I whispered. My voice cracked. "Aro!" I spoke louder this time. "Please, I'm begging you, _Aro!"_ I sobbed. I had to get out, it was driving me mad. I crawled forward to the bars and began scratching at the floor. It was cold and hard, I couldn't dig through it. _Have to get out have to get out. _I scratched and scratched, not even knowing why. I wasn't getting anywhere. My fingers should have been hurting but they weren't – I didn't care. I gripped the bars, shaking them, but it did nothing.

_There's no one here to save you. _A voice echoed in my mind. _"Go away!" _I shrieked, clawing at my head. "Damn you, Ash why won't you go away…" _You belong to me, my girl. _"Why you leave me alone? _Please,_ leave me alone!" _I do love the effect I have on you… _"Arghhh!" I screamed, gripping my temples. "Stop! For God's sake, _stop!" _I sobbed. "…Please, stop, make it stop! Let me out…Please?" I rocked back and forth, clutching my hair, tears streaming my face. "I'll be good…I'll do what you say…I won't try to run…Just don't leave me here …_Aro!" _I screamed.

The light flickered on. I glanced up to see Aro standing over me, unlocking the cell. "You-you came back." I stuttered.

"I never left." He took my wrist, pulling me upright. "I must say, that was rather entertaining. I've never seen someone react like that to turning off the light." He smirked.

"Shut up." I muttered.

"What's that? You want to sleep here tonight? Okay the-"

"No!" I burst out. "No, I'm sorry, no!" I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. With all his mood swings, I was beginning to think he was bipolar.

"I thought not. Would you like me to let you out?"

"Yes, please." I muttered reluctantly.

"'Yes, please' what?" What did he want me to say?

"Yes, please, umm, Mr Aro, Sir…?"

"Master will suffice." I stiffened, looking away. He wanted to address him as _'Master'? _As if I was his _pet? _Catching my gaze, he raised an eyebrow. I bowed my head and swallowed.

"Master." I confirmed. He lifted my chin to meet his gaze.

"If you ever try to escape me, when I find you – and I _will _find you – I will lock you down here for a week, and I will not come back. Judging by what you were reduced to in five minutes, I think we can safely say you would not be sane by the end of it. Come on." He led me back up the stairs to his living area and sat me on the sofa. Again, I sat said nothing until Aro broke the silence.

"You have quite a…reaction…to the dark, don't you?" I looked at him confused. How did he see it? "Vampire night vision." He explained.

"Oh…I know it's pathetic, let's not discuss it." I muttered.

"Very well. What would you like to discuss?" He crossed one leg over the other, sitting back.

"I wouldn't like to _discuss _anything." I stated.

"Really? You haven't got _any_ questions? Come now, if you're forced to socialise with me, you'd be as well get some information out of me while you're at it."

"Who are you?" I asked? "I mean, I know you're Aro, but _who are you?_"

"I am Aro Volturi. Me and my brothers, Marcus and Caius, are the highest authority there is among my kind. Together we rule over all vampires across the world, concealing our existence, keeping peace and ensuring the law is followed. We form the coven of The Volturi and are the closest our kind has to royalty. Our guards serve similarly to how the human police service would; their occupation is to catch any law breakers, and to protect myself and my coven – my coven consisting of my brothers and I, and our wives. The Volturi Guard, although they live here in the castle with us, are apart from our actual coven. This is the way it has been for millennia."

"So…you are the vampire kings, who are in charge of the vampire police, who are in charge of the vampire population all over the world, who have been living among us for thousands of years?"

"Correct." How can vampires have existed for so long without us knowing?

"What laws do you have?" Surely, vampires just did as they pleased?

"Don't expose yourself to humans is the biggest. So clean up any left overs of food, don't go out in the sunlight-"

"Do you burst into flames?" I asked eagerly. That would be a way to get rid of him…

"No…" He laughed, bemused. "No, that is just a myth. Garlic also has no effect on us, nor does holy water or any form of stakes. The only way to kill us is to tear us apart and burn the pieces – which I human cannot do, so don't get any ideas." _Damn, _I thought. "We do in fact have reflections, we can enter holy ground and can cross running water. We cannot breed, new vampires – which we call 'New borns' – are humans who have been bitten by a vampire and injected with our venom. We need blood to exist, human is preferable. We are faster and stronger than humans, and some of our kind possesses certain gifts, in the same way I can read minds."

"So…why can't you go out in the sunlight?" He immediately looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, um, we're not allergic to sunlight, as such, but we have some sort of reaction. We, err, sparkle."

"_What?"_ I wondered if I had heard him correctly.

"We_ sparkle."_ He hissed.

"You're not serious." I giggled. "The big scary vampires _sparkle?_" I laughed at the thought.

"_Enough."_ He demanded. I managed to reign in my laughter, reminding myself who I was talking to. My smile dropped immediately and I looked down, averting his gaze.

"So, not all vampires have powers?" I spoke quietly.

"No. Many among our ranks do, but that is because they are here because I can utilise their powers. It makes them special. For example, my brother Marcus can see relationships between people, and we have a guard who can manipulate them. We have a guard who can track people – bare that in mind – another who can create the illusion of pain. We've a member who can cut off all senses leaving victims helpless, all things that can be quite useful to me." His eyes glinted. It was clear he was attached to his power. He seemed to collect talent, adding to his ranks with different gifted vampires.

"Why me?" I asked emotionlessly.

"What do you mean?"

"Why am I here? Why am I still_ alive? _You obviously have some reasoning, some use for me. I mean, you tried to be rid of Caleb the first chance you got, but not me. You could have locked me up with the rest of your food supply but here I am. Why?" He didn't say anything at first, he just held his chin, thinking.

"I'm not sure. I heard you talking to Caleb long before I walked into him and your personality intrigued me. I saw you through Calebs' eyes when I helped him up, saw bits of your past. You interested me. You seemed different to the average English girl. So I thought I'd keep you around for a while. Maybe one day make you one of us."

"I would never agree to that." I stated.

"People change their minds over time. You know of our existence, therefore can never leave. You cannot remain a human in a castle full of vampires for ever. At the end of the day, you shall either change or you shall die. Those are your options."

"Death is preferable." I would never become one of them. I wouldn't give him what he wanted either.

"Like I said, people change their minds. We shall see. Perhaps your will reconsider when you see Caleb."

"When can I see him? And why would that make a difference?" I said. I wanted to see him, see for myself that he was okay.

"Tomorrow, and all will become clear then." I yawned. "You are tired. Come, to bed with you. It is late."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" I said yawning again. He raised an eyebrow in my direction.

"I'm assuming you meant 'Yes, Master Aro'?" He said, taking my hand.

"Yes, Master Aro." I repeated tiredly as he led me back to my room, too tired to put up any sort of fight. I would not give in to him completely, but for now, compliance was simply easier.

"That's better." He approved. I crawled into my bed, pulling the sheets over me. They were so thin, and this room was so much colder than the rest. I shivered slightly, curling myself into a ball. "You are cold." He stated. Aro left the room momentarily, returning with a blanket and a glass of water. "I apologise." He spoke whilst laying the blanket over me. "We do not get cold, you see, so have no form of central heating, as you humans would have. I forget sometimes that you are so much easier to neglect than us."

Yeah, because locking me in a room in a castle full of vampires against my will, using my best friends' life to bargain was definitely not neglecting me.

"Enough." He said, his hand brushing against my arm. Oops, he must have heard that.

"If you don't like what I'm thinking, don't listen…" I muttered.

"I said _enough._ If I do not like what you are thinking, simply do not think it." He stated. "Otherwise, there's a lovely dark cell with your name on it downstairs." That shut me up. "I presume by your sudden silence that you do not want that?" I shook my head, shuddering involuntarily. "I thought not."

He handed me the glass of water and I immediately became weary. _"Before_ you say anything, I will not be leaving until that glass is empty, and the content is in your stomach. It will help with your nightmares, so you'd be doing us both a favour by co-operating for once and drinking it." I glanced down at it, hesitating. "Oh, for goodness sake, just _drink _it, before I force it down your throat myself. It won't kill you, and if it did, you said yourself you'd prefer that to the alternative so what's the problem?" I downed the contents of the glass and gave it back to him. "See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" I didn't respond. He turned to leave.

"Thank you." I spoke quietly, without thinking.

"What did you just say?" He asked, stopping.

"I said thank you." I repeated.

"Oh. Well, you're welcome." He slipped silently to the other side of the door. I noticed his hand hovering over the light switch, hesitating, but after a few seconds he dropped it, leaving it on. I was glad. The door clicked closed behind him, and I heard his footsteps echo into the distance.

"Good night, sweet Cassandra." Were the words that followed me into sleep. A long, dreamless sleep, where for the first time in years, I felt at peace.

**Hey guys, hope you liked that **** Thank you VERY MUCH to my one reviewer on my last chapter – a guest who named themselves 'volturi' – your support is very much appreciated, and thank you to anyone who read my story at all. If you don't like it, fair enough, but if you do, PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me so happy and gives me so much motivation to write more **** If you don't like where it's going, tell me, and if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them. I haven't quite decided my story line yet, so I might use some of them. Again, constructive criticism is welcome, I'll update again soon. My last exam is in two days (YAY) so I'll have a lot of time to write afterwards. Also, I'm struggling to make Aro sound…Aro-y, if that makes sense? Is it just me, or not? If not, how do I make Aro more Aro-y? All the best,**

**Scarlett**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Let me see Caleb." I demanded the moment Aro entered my room the next morning.

"You're not exactly in a good position to be making orders, my dear." He replied, closing the door behind him. Would it kill him to leave it open for once? "You'd do well to remember your place."

I groaned loudly as he dropped another bowl of porridge on my lap. "Don't you have any food that _isn't _porridge?" I glanced disdainfully at the steaming mush.

"Yes, but as you have failed to finish a single bowl of it since you arrived, you're not getting anything else until you do. You are also not going to see your precious Caleb until you have eaten that, and you will do so in my presence, in case you have an urge to find other means of disposing it._ Again_." He glared, daring me to say anything.

"Yes, _Master._" I replied with a mock salute, my words laced with sarcasm. He didn't comment. Reluctantly, I began to spoon the food into my mouth. It was good, and I was hungry – I'd barely eaten since I got here. The only thing stopping me from eating was my own stubbornness. If there was a way I could disobey Aro and get away with it, I would do it. At least I'd have control over something. But I _had_ to see Caleb. And if this was the only way to do it, I would do as he said for now. Scraping the last bits from the bowl, I passed it back to Aro.

"Satisfied?" My hands itched to leave – get out of this room.

"Quite. It's amazing what a little motivation can do…" He spoke more to himself than to me.

"So? I ate your food. Can I see him now?" I asked eagerly.

"You may. I must warn you he is not...quite the way you remember him." He stated whilst helping me up, leading me from his quarters for the first time in days.

"What's that supposed to mean?" His pace was fast, I was practically jogging so that he wouldn't pull me over.

"He..." Aro hesitated. "It is best that you see for yourself." After wondering around countless winding corridors and staircases, we arrived at a door on the lower levels of the castle. He knocked swiftly, waiting for an answer. He wasn't disappointed. A tall, sour looking man answered. His white-blonde hair hung at his shoulders, framing his equally pale face. Piecing red eyes burned through me as he started down over his nose.

"Good morning, brother." Aro was overly cheerful. This brother of his seemed to be quite the opposite.

"What is so good about it, Aro?" He spoke sharply with a scowl on his face. "And why is there a human cowering behind your legs?" Cowering? I wasn't cowering. Aro gripped my shoulder and brought me forward.

"This is Cassandra. Cassandra this is my brother Caius." So this was Caius. I'm not sure I wanted to be spending any time with him. And I thought Aro was bad… At this point Aro tapped me on the head, chuckling. I forgot he was still holding my shoulder and could hear everything I was thinking.

"Fantastic." Caius sounded most unenthusiastic. "Now why, pray tell, is she here?" I don't think he liked me. Well, for the record, I didn't like him either.

"She is the girl that arrived with Caleb – the boy I sent to you earlier this week. I'm taking her to see him." Why didn't he just keep Caleb in his quarters?

"If you must." He stood aside, letting us come into what I assumed to be Caius's quarters. He then joined us in front, leading the way. We came to a staircase, concealed by a locked door. It was dark inside, and I hesitated at the entrance. Aro noticed, and smirked slightly, but asked Caius if he could turn on the lights. Caius said nothing, but proceeded to light a match, with which he lit one of the torches hanging on the wall. He removed it from its holder and lit the others on the way down. Stopping at the bottom, he waved flames is my direction, sniggering when I leapt back in shock, gasping. Nope. I _definitely _did not like this guy.

At the bottom of the staircase was a long corridor, and on either side was a row of cells. But they were worse than Aro's. They were dark and damp, the floor was just dirt and the stone walls were growing moss. There were bugs and spiders scuttling around – I cried out slightly as I walking into a spider web. Aro chuckled behind me. Most of the cells weren't occupied, but people in the ones that were scrambled away at the sight of Caius, their chains rattling as they went.

Caius stopped abruptly, causing me to walk right into to him. He whirled on me, eyes blazing.

"You stupid girl!" He yelled.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry!" I stammered.

"You will be!" He threatened.

"Calm yourself, brother." Aro's voice was soft, but authoritive. Caius struck me across the face, sending me flying into the bars of a cell. I hit with a thump and slumped to the ground

"Don't touch her!" A voiced commanded. I recognised that voice. It was the same voiced that had saved me all those years ago when I was cornered by Ash.

"Caleb!" I exclaimed. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but listen to me Cassie-"

"You look awful! You're so pale, are you sure you're alright? Have they been feeding you? They haven't, have they? Why won't you feed him? Get him some food-"

"_Cassie! _I'm fine, just _please_, stand back." I couldn't quite see him, he was mostly in the shadows, toward the back of the cell.

"What? B-but why?" I leaned in closer, trying to see him better.

"Please stop. Don't come any closer." His voice was pained. What was wrong with him?

"Caleb, what's wrong?" I put my hand through the bars, reaching out to him. "You don't have to be scared-" Suddenly, Aro grabbed me harshly by the waist, jerking me backwards, just as Caleb threw himself at the bars, hissing. I gasped. Wait, _hissing? _Why was he _hissing_?

"I-I d-don't underst-stand…" I whispered. I turned to face Aro, pushing him away from me. "_What did you do?!_" I shrieked.

"I tried to warn you." He spoke calmly, which only infuriated me more.

"What have you done to him?" I shouted, shaking with rage.

"What did you expect Cassandra? You saw me bite him! And I informed you that the only way to create a new vampire is by biting a human which injects venom."

"I don't know…I just didn't think…I didn't realise…"

"Cassie, I'm so sorry." Caleb spoke from within the cell, staring at his hands. "It's just, I need blood, so much it _burns. _It feels like my throat is on fire and just…_you."_ His voice broke. "All I can smell is your blood right now, it's all I can think about and I can't control myself. Please, stay away from me. I couldn't bear it if I hurt you." I said nothing for a moment, my expression blank.

"He needs blood." I stated.

"He only completed the change last night – it takes three days." Aro informed me. "As I have told you before, he will be cared for providing you behave."

"_What?" _Caleb spat. "You're blackmailing her with me? Oh, you are some piece of work, you fucking bastard!" I was shocked; I'd never heard him swear before. The shock only lasted a moment, however, because Aro grabbed me by the hair and threw me to the floor. I cried out on impact, hitting my head on the floor. "What the hell!?" Caleb yelled.

"It works both ways, _boy._ One of you misbehaves, the both of you will pay for it." He was more menacing toward him than I'd ever heard him before.

"You're a soulless monster, have you no heart? No conscience? No remorse whatsoever? You're an evil, demonic creature who does not deserve to exist, you-" He was cut off by my scream when Aro yanked me up, pressing my back into him with his arm around my chest. He snatched the flaming torch from Caius, who was contently watching the scene take place, and held it inches from my face.

"Please, stop…" I whispered. The flames licked at my face, and I felt my lips cracking.

"You _will _learn to respect me, and if you care about her wellbeing at all you will learn _soon_." Caleb began to burst out with another comment, but thought better of it, seeing my face. "Apologise." He commanded. I knew Caleb was stubborn, so it didn't surprise me when he didn't reply. Aro inched the flames closer to my face. I felt my eyelashes singe slightly.

"_Caleb…" _I rasped. "Do as he says. Please." Heat radiated through my skin and a sob escaped my lips.

"I am sorry." Caleb spoke though clenched teeth.

"'I am sorry', _what_?" He added in an overly pleasant voice. The flames waved from side to side, taunting. Caleb seemed confused.

"Master, Master, call him Master!" I insisted fearfully. Caleb hesitated for a second. A second too long. Aro flicked the torch sideways, pressing it against my arm. I screamed in agony.

"Stop!" Caleb yelled. "Master, I am sorry _Master, _okay? Stop hurting her, please!" Aro slowly removed the torch from my skin – which had begun to blister awfully – and passed it back to Caius. He released me and I fell in a heap at his feet, sobbing quietly, cradling my arm.

"I'm so sorry, Cassie, I didn't think he would do it. Oh, God, I'm sorry, are you okay? I didn't think he would…"

"I don't make empty threats, boy. Let this be a lesson for the future." He said sternly. "Caius, I am going to take Caleb to my quarters so we can have a little _talk. _Would you look after Cassandra for me until I return?" What? He was going to leave me _here? _With _Caius?_

"You _cannot_ be serious_?" _He complained disdainfully. Aro held his gaze for a moment, and Caius gave a sigh. "Fine. The things I do for you brother…" He muttered.

"Cassandra, go with Caius now." He lifted me up from under my arms. Reluctantly, I forced myself to join Caius at his side. "You will behave and be respectful to my brother. You will do as he says and I shall collect you later when I return this pathetic excuse for a vampire." He said, glaring at Caleb. "Are my instructions understood?"

"Yes." I whispered.

"'Yes', what?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good girl." After this, Caius gripped my arm, and dragged me up the stairs impatiently. I cried out as his iron fist clenched around my newly burnt arm, but he didn't let go. Aro closely followed, holding Caleb in chains. I heard him talking to Caleb. "See? You should learn from your friend here. _She _knows her place. She is capable of obeying orders, she knows who her master is, and she is _aware_ of what will happen to her if she…misbehaves." I looked up from the corner of my eye, seeing his lips twitch upwards at the last word. Averting my gaze quickly, I let my hair fall over my face. Caleb hadn't missed a beat.

"_What did you do to her?!" _He yelled.

"Silence, _boy."_ He proceeded to exit Caius's quarters, dragging an outraged Caleb with him. I was alone with Caius.

"So, not a fan of fire, I see?" I was shocked when he spoke – I had expected him to ignore me for the duration of my stay. No such luck.

"Not particularly, no. I'm not fond of anything that will hurt me." I stood awkwardly.

"You're going to utterly _despise_ me then." He smirked. I shuddered visibly, my heart skipping a beat. He chuckled darkly at my reaction.

"Don't worry too much. Not yet anyway. Aro is far too fond of you to let me have you. Yet."

"This is how he treats someone he's fond of? I want to know how he treats someone he's not fond of…"

"Oh, no, I assure you, you do not want to know. Although, I think your friend Caleb is about to find out. But yes, Aro is fond of you at the moment. But when he gets bored of you…Well, maybe we can get to know each other better?" He tipped my head up, taking my chin in his hand. My breathing wavered.

"I-I'm not that interesting r-really, I mean, th-there's not much to get to kn-know. I-I'm not really worth your t-time." I stuttered, backing into the wall.

"Oh, you think so little of yourself. I'm sure I could find a use for you…" He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his hand snaking around my neck. "You see, if I know Aro, which I do, he will either grow tired of you and hand you over to me, or you will infuriate him, and he will ask me to teach you a lesson. So either way, I will have you." He spoke in a hushed voice, but it still sent chills down my spine. "If you push him to the point at which he has to give you to me to be punished, then I shall have the pleasure of making you scream for several hours before he reclaims you. However, if he grows tired with you, well, let's just say we will be spending _a lot _of time together." He smirked, chuckling. Then he was gone.

Still pressed against the wall, I saw him sitting at his desk as if nothing had happened, writing. "You'd be as well make yourself useful while you're here." He didn't look up as he spoke.

"H-how?" I asked, still shaken from his words before.

"Seeing as Aro would be displeased if I harmed you, I suppose you could clean this floor up. That should cause you no physical damage." The floor looked perfectly clean to me, but I wasn't about to argue with him.

"O-okay." I stammered, not moving.

"Well, what are you waiting for? You'll find everything you need in the cupboard there." I retrieved the cleaning materials from the cupboard he had motioned to and began scrubbing.

xXx

"Put your back into it, girly." Caius smirked over my shoulder. Several hours had passed, and Aro still hadn't returned. Caius had made me scrub every floor in his quarters. Surprisingly, that was _a lot _of floor. I was on the hall way now, and my hands were red raw and bleeding. I didn't acknowledge his appearance, just attempted to scrub harder, throwing my weight into the brush. "I suppose if nothing else, you'd make a nice little maid…" he thought aloud. "Work you to the bone, until you can work no longer…watch you deteriorate into nothing and collapse in a miserable heap at my feet…" I shuddered shying away from him.

Suddenly, the door burst open, hitting me. I fell backwards into the bucket of water, sending it spilling everywhere. Aro walked in, Caleb following. They both took one look at me, completely soaked, and conjured an expression of shock on their faces.

"Stupid girl!" Caius yelled. He grabbed my hair and yanked me to my feet, pushing me forward. I stumbled a few steps, but managed to keep my balance. "_Get this cleaned up_." He spat.

"Yes, Master." I whispered, swiftly grabbing a mop from the cupboard.

"It wasn't her fault, brother." Aro murmured. "And your guard could have done this job in minutes; there was no need to make her do it."

"Well, she had to give some form of amusement for me." He smirked. Aro sighed. "I presume you are finished with the boy?" Caius changed the subject.

"Yes. We have reached an understanding, haven't we Caleb?" Caleb nodded. "I can't hear you."

"Yes." Caleb spoke emotionlessly. Aro raised an eyebrow, clearly with an implied meaning. I saw Caleb grit his teeth in anger. "Yes, _Master_."

"That's better." He patronised. I heard Caleb growl softly under his breath, but no one commented on it. Looking up at him, I gave a small smile. His face softened when his eyes met mine, managing to muster up smile for me in return. My smile dropped when Aro stood between us. "Caius, return Caleb to his cell." Stepping forward, Caius took Caleb's wrist, and Aro took mine.

"Bye, Caleb…" I whispered. Aro squeezed my wrist slightly. I couldn't tell if he was trying to comfort me, or warning me to be quiet.

"You'll be okay, Cassie." He replied. Caius snapped at him to shut up. "You'll be fine…" He looked back for a second, waving, but was swiftly yanked into the darkness of the dungeons. Caius returned a few minutes later.

"I trust she behaved herself?" Aro inquired.

"She was obedient – didn't cause any trouble."

"Good. I shall take her off of your hands then." He turned, taking me with him, and lead me out of the quarters and into the hallway. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be on the other side of that door. The corners of Aro's lips upturned. "I see you are pleased to be out of my brothers' company." I hesitated before nodding.

"W-well, he's n-not exactly the_ least _intimidating man I've ever m-met…" I spoke quietly. "Q-quite the opposite, actually…" Laughing nervously, I bowed my head.

"He has that effect on a lot of people, cara." He smiled, almost pitifully at my trembling state, then began leading me back to his quarters. "Come now, let's get you cleaned up."

When we arrived, the first thing he did was send me to shower. After all, I was covered in dirty washing water.

"I do apologise, dear. That was my fault. Caius should not have blamed you." I didn't reply, just nodded and went for my shower.

Afterwards, I dressed myself in the clothes he had laid out. This time it was a navy blue dress of similar fashion to the now soaked burgundy dress I had taken off, but it came to my knees and the sleeves stopped at my elbows. Leaving the bathroom, I saw Aro looking rather busy at his desk, so decided to go straight back to my room.

"Stop." He spoke as my hand grasped the door knob. "Did I tell you to go to your room?" He didn't look up from his work or even stop writing as he spoke.

"N-no, but you looked busy, I d-didn't want to disturb y-you, I-I'm sor-"

"Calm yourself, Cassandra. I am not cross with you. It's three o'clock in the afternoon, you haven't eaten and your arm needs medical attention. You can remain in here for the rest of the day."

"Forgive me for not knowing the time locked in a castle that doesn't believe in daylight, windows or clocks…" I muttered. He paused, holding the pen still for a moment.

"Does this bother you?"

"You know I hate the dark, and not knowing the time is disorientating. I don't even know how long I've been here."

"This is your fourth day." He informed me. Getting up, he took my hand a led me into the main room and through another door. Shocked at the suddenness of his actions, I just went along with him. The new room was pitch black and full of abandoned bits of furniture. I gripped his hand, making sure he didn't run off and lock me in here. He purposefully strode the back wall of the room and gripped some sort of panel on the wall, tearing splintering bits of wood from it.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked, bewildered. He didn't respond. Turns out the wooden panel had been nailed to the wall, concealing a door. He searched through a chain of keys, unlocking it to reveal something I had missed dearly over the past few days.

_Sunlight_. It consumed me, shining in all its glory. Aro lead me out onto the balcony, and I felt the warm tingle of the sun on my skin.

"That's the first time I've seen you smile since you got here." He commented. I turned to face him, blushing. _Well, it's not always easy to smile in my situation, _I thought.

"I love the sun. Where there is light, there is no darkness." I breathed in content, still beaming.

"Ahh, but there are always shadows. You just do not notice them. Without light there would be no dark, and vice versa. They coexist in harmony, because you cannot have one without the other." He stepped backwards, away from the light.

"Do you not like the light?"

"I'm not particularly keen on it, no." He paused. "Felix?" He called. The guard whose name was apparently Felix appeared in seconds.

"Yes, Master?" He was tall, but muscular with chocolate brown hair.

"Could you get Cassandra something to eat please?" Aro left the balcony whilst talking, returning in a flash with a first aid kit.

"Of course, Master. I shall have Renata make something right away."

"Thank you, Felix." The guard left after being dismissed.

"Sit." Aro instructed, motioning to a seat in the corner of the balcony. I obeyed. "Arm." I held out my hand to him and he pulled it towards him, revealing the burnt area. Inspecting it, his face dropped slightly.

"I am sorry for this. I did not want to hurt you. I expected Caleb to give up as soon as I threatened you, when he didn't, I had to follow through with my words." Taking some sort of cream, he began to gently apply it to my arm. I winced, gritting my teeth.

"I'm sorry." He repeated. He took a bandage and wrapped it firmly around my arm, causing me to whimper. "Shh…" He hushed, pinning it in place. "There. It should heal quicker now." Right on cue, Felix returned with a plate of tomato pasta.

"I hope this is to your liking." He placed it in my hands.

"Y-yes, thank you." I stared down at the steaming pasta. It looked delicious, and I didn't want to upset Aro. But…

"I know that look Cassandra, and don't you even think about starting your food games again. That stops now." I didn't reply. "From now on, for every meal you eat, Caleb gets a pint of blood. If you don't eat, neither does he." He grinned smugly, knowing I couldn't win this battle. I glared at him, but sighed in defeat.

Twenty minutes later, I had managed to force the mountain of pasta into my stomach, and felt like I was about to be sick. Slapping my hand over my mouth, I tried to keep it down.

"I swear to God, my girl, if you are sick I shall make you another plateful and sit here until you've eaten it." My heart rate jolted at his wording. _My girl._ That's what Ash had always called me. In his opinion, I had belonged to him. And the same with Aro. He was convinced I was his property, to do with as he pleased. Thought I would just bow down and do as he said. And I had. But what else could I do? It's all well and good him punishing me, but Caleb? I couldn't bring him into it. And Aro had been okay today. He had seemed…_nice?_ Was that even possible?

What are you thinking, Cassie? He kidnapped you and is holding you captive, threatening to kill your best friend if you don't do exactly as he says. He _burned_ your arm today. He wouldn't be nice unless he had some ulterior motive. Would he? It's not like he actually cared about me. Then again, Caius had said Aro was fond of me. Not that I had any reason to believe a word that came out of Caius's mouth.

"What are you thinking about?" Aro startled me, causing me to jump, although he had been here the whole time. I had completely zoned out.

"I, err, n-nothing…" I stuttered. "You j-just reminded me of…s-someone…" He held his hand out, waiting for me to show him. I shook my head, backing away.

"Cassandra," He prompted, raising an eyebrow. "Your hand." I didn't move. He sighed. "I will not ask a second time."

"P-please, don't make me." I whispered. He began to advance on me. "No! Listen, please!" Thankfully, he paused in his steps, waiting. "Please, just listen to me."

"I'm listening."

"I-I will st-stay here with you voluntarily, and d-do as you say, if you let me keep my mind to myself. I-I'm not asking for much, just t-trust me. Let me earn your trust. I-I have nothing left in my life to run away to, I'm better off here. I h-have no friends, Caleb is a v-vampire, I have no family and a boy who enjoys making every second of my existence a misery. Th-there's no point."

"You are asking me to have no physical contact with you. This would prove somewhat difficult, how do you propose I do this?"

"Errm…wear gloves?" I suggested. He rose his eyebrows again, but did not question it.

"Very well. I accept your deal. But know that if you break your half, I will break mine. I will give you one chance. If you betray my trust, you shall not regain it easily. I shall also ensure you regret it. Are we at an understanding?"

"Yes, Master." I bowed my head. "Thank you." He turned to leave.

"You are welcome. I must return to my work. I assume you would rather stay here in the sunlight rather than go back to your room?" I nodded. "As you wish. I shall return for you before night fall."

"Okay." I agreed.

"Oh, and Cassandra?" He paused in the doorway, looked back at me.

"Yes, Master?"

"Please do not take advantage of my decision. I would hate to have to punish you for it, but you know that I will if it is necessary. I do not favour the deceitful."

"Yes, Master."

As soon as I heard the door shut, and his footsteps echoed away, I smiled. I didn't care if had nothing to go to, I was getting out of here. Once Aro trusted me, he would give me more freedom. And the more freedom he gave me, the closer I would be to my escape. Soon, I would be as free as the birds that were soaring though the beautiful sky as I watched, and the darkness would claim me no more.

**Hey guys, sorry this took a little while, this chapter took me so long to write! So, Cassie met Caius, was reunited with Caleb, and Caleb met Aro. Lots going on, but what next? Thanks to everyone's support, it means so much to me! You are the reason I write. "Volturi" you asked in a review whether Aro and Cassie will get together. To be honest, I haven't decided. Anybody got any views on this, what do people think? Oh, and I was considering experimenting with different POV's, anybody want an Aro POV next chapter, or shall I stick to Cassie? Let me know what you think, it only take a minute!**

**All the best,  
Scarlett**


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